The day of redemption
by Ishida Sasuke
Summary: Ulquiorra has appeared once again and only Orihime stands in his way. Will she be able to finally stand still and fight him to protect her friends or will she die trying? And why does Ulquiorra seems to be troubled about killing her? Ulquihime oneshot R


_**Author Note: **__I felt like doing a one-shot to improve my English narration, so what is better that a Bleach one shot in which Orihime finally snap out and fight? This is also the prequel of my upcoming fan fic "The heroine complex". Ulquihime paring. Enjoy and review!_

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**The day of redemption  
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"Kurosaki-kun! Ishida-kun!" Orihime cried.

Both of them were finally defeated. Was it the end? There was no one else standing, but her. What could she do? She didn't know, she was afraid, she feared that it would be the end. Even though she managed to get them inside the protection of her soutenkisshun, that didn't mean anything if she was going to be killed. There it was, once again raising in front of them, the Ulquiorra that died once on Ichigo's hands. He became dust and now he was back, but he didn't seem like wanting to kill Orihime. He just stared at her. Her comrades were bleeding, Ichigo was knocked out and almost cut in half, his waist was bleeding badly. Uryuu had his lung pierced and his face cut. They were hanging on life ropes, about to fall on death's mercy. If Orihime died, so would they. The moon on Hueco Mundo shone brighter as Ulquiorra walked forwards her, his wings were raising as his green pale eyes stared at Orihime.

"You said you were not afraid" That was true, she said that. "I could see it barely, the heart. Would you give me your heart, woman?"

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked in fear as she stepped backwards.

"Let me touch your heart, woman. Let me feel the blood that gives you life, the heart that makes you smile, the soul that bonded with me"

"Why have you come back?" Orihime asked shedding tears. "I thought you died"

"How I managed back does not matter, what's matter is what to do now. Woman, show me the way... your heart is the only thing I seek right now".

What should I do? Orihime asked to herself. She realized that she made the same thing that she did back then when Ulquiorra killed Ichigo. She was relaying on something else, she had been too dependent all the time, her whole life. She didn't want to be like that anymore, what was her training for? Why did she work so hard? To wait to be saved? No! She would stand still, no matter if she was killed, she would try, no matter if she was weak, she knew there was something she could do and it was try. It didn't matter how scared she might be, even if she found herself in death her soul would be attached to her friends forever, her existence would not be lost. Her death might show Ulquiorra the way to, to stand and fight to protect her friends it was the only thing she could think about.

Her eyes stared at Ulquiorra who was only feet away from her, soon he would go there and kill her, but she was ready.

"Santen Kesshun" she yelled out loud.

It wasn't really need, she could do the same without talking, but she wanted to feel like she was trying. Ulquiorra's left wing was about to slice on Orihime like a blade, but found its way stopped by the tri force shield. It was the same as the first time they met, she did exactly the same and the outcome will be same. Orihime accepted that she would lose and that she would not be saved, not by Ichigo, nor by any other. They were alone as the shield shattered into pieces and Orihime jumped backwards as she rose her arms to take a fighting stance. Trying was the best she could do, her powers never gave her amazing speed or strength, but if she just could reject the events then... she might just find a second split opening and her only chance. She was kicked before she could realize what hit her. She fell on the floor and rolled, she closed her eyes because some dust got in her eyes as something hit her face. She could not read Ulquiorra's movements because they were far beyond the speed she was used to read, but when Ulquiorra's hand tried to reach her heart, Orihime's eyes suddenly opened and the shield appeared once again stopping Ulquiorra. She wouldn't be dependent of anyone anymore, she would take care of everyone, she would protect everyone! Why had Ichigo to save everyone? Someone had to save him too! A burning desire grew stronger on Orihime as she stood up. Some bruises were marked on her face and body, she was out of breath, but her spiritual pressure increased as she stared at Ulquiorra. His eyes were not the usual emotionless eyes he gave her, those eyes were showing desolation. If the circumstances were different, Orihime would have loved to change those eyes, to make them see something else. Her heart beat fast, she understood that somewhere deep in her heart she also loved him, in her whole time in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra was always in someway protecting her and appealing her attention, was he fighting her because she never showed him what he wanted? Was he so set on Ichigo because of her? It was only a theory, she might have guessed wrong, but those eyes were able to captive her. And she knew there was only one way to erase those eyes. They have searched endlessly for the day when they could understand each other and at the moment it came to it, it was the same instant they had to fight for their lives.

Orihime's heart understood how to free Ulquiorra from his pain and as a tear shed of her face, her spiritual energy rose even more, but it wasn't enough to overcome Ulquiorra.

The shield now could be expanded, the shin shun rikas flew in every direction were Ulquiorra tried to attack in order to block the attack with the golden like force shield. Orihime stood still, she was surrounded by her shin shun rikas that were shielding here while Ulquiorra tried to break the barrier, but the barrier wasn't blocking the attack, it was rejecting Ulquiorra's movements, so even though his spiritual pressure should have destroyed it, it couldn't destroy something that he never actually hit, because the attack was rejected. Orihime concentrated in making the barrier more effective as Ulquiorra finally jumped backwards.

"Lanza del relampago" he said as he created the lightning spear on his hand.

Orihime now called out Tsubaki. It was the first time she made so in a really long while. Ulquiorra threw the lance towards Orihime, this time breaking the barrier, but Orihime managed to jump aside just in perfect timing to dodge the spear, still Ulquiorra was faster than her and he was able to slash her with a brand new spear he made. The cut only reached the surface of her skin, but that didn't stop her back to bleed, the cut was a straight line that if it gone any deeper it would have cut her in two. She hardened her expression and tried to keep her stood. She kicked Ulquiorra who just grabbed her leg and sent her flying backwards until she crashed to a tower. The impact was stopped by the santen kesshun, but Ulquiorra was in front of her once again. The lightning spear would pierce her chest and heart causing a certain death, unless.

"Koten sanshun"

Tsubaki pierced Ulquiorra's chest first. The lightning spear was halted in middle air as the shun shun rika got through Ulquiorra. One second later would have ended on Orihime's death, but there they were. She was staring at Ulquiorra, even though she pierced his chest and blood came out there was no sign of a heart. How could that be? How can someone bleed and have no heart? It made no sense, but it only meant that Ulquiorra wasn't done for, he just stopped his spear because of something else. The impact didn't kill him, he stopped on his own staring at the woman who tried to defend herself. She was powerless and still she tried to stop him, she could not possible beat him and still she stood stil trying to fight him when she had no chance. Humans sure were interesting, that woman cared too much for their friends. Was an illusion or so did she cared about him?

Orihime shed more tears as her face stared on Ulquiorra. She raised her arm and rubbed his cheek. Ulquiorra didn't know what that meant or what it should have been the meaning of that, but he knew that it was the action of a heart.

"It's impossible to be alone, even if you embrace yourself to solitude" Orihime whispered. "Ulquiorra, we're able to paint tomorrow with our hands. Why do you must follow this path?

"Because I do not understand" he answered. "If lights becomes brighter so does darkness. Are we light and darkness? Are you the heart that shines brighter on the darkness of my heartless chest?

"I can be" Orihime replied. "I want to stand by myself and protect everyone. I can protect you too."

"If you want to protect your friends, then kill me" Ulquiorra stated. "I exist to kill, I'm a hollow and that's my instinct. You're a woman, a human, and your desire is to protect. We are meant to fight"

"Is that really it?" Orihime asked and she slapped Ulquiorra as she stood up. "Snap out of it! Hollow, shinigami, arrancar, everyone of them come from a human soul! So, please... don't you think you could be human once again? Or at least try?"

Ulquiorra raised his hand to rub Orihime's cheek. He wondered how it would feel like. Soft and warm, but nothing else was felt as he had no heart. He wanted one, he would rip Orihime's heart and finally understand what those feelings meant, those feelings that were lost the very day he became a hollow and that were buried the day he became an arrancar. Were they so lost? They were from a distant past, and he was a menos once, that meant many hollows conformed a gillain that started evolving until he became a Vasto Lorde. And now the seal that kept those memories was about to be broken, but they needed a key and the key was Orihime's heart.

Both of them jumped backwards and took a fighting stance. Orihime could finally free Ulquiorra from his nihilism, even if that meant she had to get her heart broken. If she was unable to do so, at least she would die giving Ulquiorra a heart that could shine in the darkness of his chest.

Orihime gathered as much spiritual energy as she could use, she knew they would be powerless against Ulquiorra, but if she used her powers right she would have the chance to do it. This time, she would use her powers to give Ulquiorra the heart he lost so many years ago, maybe even thousands of years. They both stared at each other. Ulquiorra shot a cero oscuras and Orihime used his Santen Kesshun. It was unable to stop the cero and the shield broke. The impact was weaken however by the shield making it not lethal, but still it injured Orihime heavily. Her clothes were almost all torn apart, her cheek and forehead were bleeding clouding her sight on blood, her waist was as torn apart as Ichigo's and her legs were almost cut off. Ulquiorra was about to give the ending blow, but Orihime managed to call her shield once again and in the second Ulquiorra was stopped, Tsubaki pierced Ulquiorra's head. Then, the souten kisshun surrounded both of them along with Ichigo and Uryuu. Ulquiorra was being rejected to the point in which he was becoming ash, and he was dieing once again.

"I love you" Orihime told him. "So... if we meet again, I shall be able to share my heart with you"

"I'll be waiting for that day to come... because the only heart that have ever shone in my darkness is yours. Goodbye, Inoue Orihime."

"With these hands" Orihime said before Ulquiorra dissipated in the wind. "I will protect those who I care and paint the dark colors of your lost heart"

Ulquiorra disappeared as Orihime fainted. The moon shone brighter as the heroine cried in her dreams the lost of her beloved antagonist. They would meet again somehow, maybe in the realm of dreams and our heroine would wake up to grow and protect those she care for. And in the starless sky of Hueco Mundo, a light that didn't come from the moon shone on Orihime's face.


End file.
